Mets slip past Marlins

April 24, 2012|Reuters

Mets slip past Marlins

The night was supposed to be all about ex-Met Jose Reyes' return to New York in his splashy new Miami Marlins uniform. The more significant story, though, turned out to be a pair of gems thrown by aces injured in 2011, as Johan Santana and Josh Johnson locked up in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel in the first game of their three-game series at Citi Field on Tuesday.

As it turned out, the bullpens decided the game as the Mets scratched out a run against Miami reliever Edward Mujica in the bottom of the eighth to edge the Marlins 2-1.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled to open the inning, and after Ruben Tejada popped out trying to bunt him to second, Daniel Murphy singled Nieuwenhuis to third. David Wright struck out looking, but Lucas Duda smashed one off of Mujica's right hand for an infield hit as Nieuwenhuis raced home with the go-ahead run.

"I was just looking to stay up the middle, not to try to pull it, and it worked out," said Duda. "I saw it ricochet off his hand, and I thought it'd be an out, but it went far enough away that I was able to beat it out."

Frank Francisco, who'd given up runs in each of his previous three outings, pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save, making a winner out of reliever Jon Rauch, who pitched a perfect eighth and improved to 3-0 for the young season.

The Mets gave Reyes, their ex-shortstop and career stolen base leader, a pre-game video tribute showing highlights of his nine-year career with the team.

When Reyes came up to lead off the game, he was greeted with a mixed reception. Some fans stood and clapped, but a good number could be heard booing.

"I'm not surprised (about the boos)," said Reyes. "I play for another team now, and I have no hard feelings. Most of the fans, before the game, were showing me a lot of love. I respect all of them, because they gave me support all the time I was here."

Mets manager Terry Collins has seen enough of Reyes to know his value.

"I don't need to watch the video to know how good he is," Collins said. "I'm sure he'll want to show everybody everything he brought to the table and do it in one game. And we'll try to shut him down."

The Mets did just that, as Reyes and the Fish could do little against Santana, who was seeking to rebound from a disastrous April 14 start against Atlanta, when he gave up 6 runs (4 earned) in just 1 1/3 innings.

Displaying his signature changeup and a lively fastball, the Mets lefty allowed only a first-inning Emilio Banafacio single and two walks while striking out 11 through six innings. It marked the 50th time in his career that the two-time Cy Young Award winner had reached double digits in strikeouts.

"It was hard waiting a little long (between starts), but I did everything I had to do to prepare, and I was ready," said Santana. "Once I got through the first inning, I was OK. My fastball came around after a few innings, and I was able to throw all my pitches for strikes."

In the seventh, though, the Marlins finally broke through. With two outs, Giancarlo Stanton reached on a broken-bat single and scored from first on a double by Gaby Sanchez over left fielder Mike Baxter's head.

The hit finished Santana's night. He was charged with just the lone run after reliever Ramon Ramirez retired John Buck on a comebacker to end the inning.

For his part, Johnson, who, like Santana, is coming off an injury-ruined 2011 season, was also busy showing off his own ace-worthy form. The 6-foot-7 righty surrendered just one run and three hits while striking out nine and walking one over 6 2/3.

"It was tough us losing the game," said Johnson, who, like Santana, came away with a no-decision. "But the guy on the other side was pretty good, too."

The seventh inning found the Mets striking back - or more accurately, walking back. After a two-out walk to Duda, Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen lifted Johnson for Randy Choate, who walked his only batter, pinch-hitter Jason Turner. A walk to another pinch-hitter, Scott Hairston, by Steve Chisek loaded the bases, and after Guillen brought in lefty Mike Dunn to face Josh Thole, the Mets catcher also walked forcing in the tying run.

Zach Lutz, just brought up by the Mets to replace injured Jason Bay, struck out looking in his first major-league at-bat to end the rally that did not include a hit.

"My bullpen's been doing the job pretty well," said Guillen. "We had a plan, because they had a lot of left-hand hitters coming up. I wish I knew we'd walk four guys in a row, maybe I do it different. But we had who we wanted pitching. It just didn't work out tonight."

The Mets threatened in the third. With one out, Thole sliced a ball down the left field line past a diving Logan Morrison for a double. A Santana groundout to first advanced Thole to third, but Johnson struck out centerfielder Nieuwenhuis to strand Thole.

They almost scored in fourth as well. With runners on second and third and two outs, Murphy tried to score on a pitch that eluded catcher John Buck. The Mets second baseman appeared to slide in under the tag of a covering Johnson, but Murphy was called out to end the inning.

NOTES: After losing a doubleheader to the Giants on Monday, the Mets lost two key players to the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. Jason Bay suffered a non-displaced fracture of a rib on the left side diving for a ball during the second game, and the team recalled infielder Lutz to take his roster spot. Starter Mike Pelfrey, who had complained of soreness during and after his last start, had an MRI that revealed swelling in his right elbow. More tests were scheduled. Left-hander Robert Carson was being called up but was not expected to be used as a starter, leaving Pelfrey's spot in the rotation empty for the moment.